


Diplomatically Inclined

by SendmetoMars



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Attempts to discuss research are made, Cadet James T. Kirk, Dad Pike, First Officer Spock - Freeform, Flirting, M/M, Misunderstandings, Oblivious Spock (Star Trek), Very Bad Flirting, Vulcan hands, but don't worry he figures it out, but there are more important things at hand, like so many misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:20:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26472511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SendmetoMars/pseuds/SendmetoMars
Summary: Captain Christopher Pike decides that in order for Jim to get some hands on experience on a Starship before he graduates the academy, he should spend a couple months onboard the Enterprise. However, he may have one ulterior motive. Which is that he is convinced that his first officer, Mr Spock, is just the guy Jim's been looking for. And well... he tries to be subtle about it.Basically, Pike ships Spirk, and decides to do something about it. Professionally, of course.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Spock
Comments: 9
Kudos: 198
Collections: Star Trek





	Diplomatically Inclined

**Author's Note:**

> Hello to mayapleiades on tumblr who inspired this fic, even tho I'm like 100% convinced it's not what they intended. Thanks for letting me use your idea.

Spock had been dreading this day for weeks. Well not dreading, per se, as that would imply there was some sort of emotionalism at play. He was merely disturbed that Captain Pike felt the need to replace him so early in their mission.

“I question your logic, Captain, in bringing a child aboard a starship,” Spock confessed one evening, during a rare personal moment with the captain.

“James Kirk isn’t a child Spock. He’s in his last year at Starfleet, and at the top of his class to boot. I just thought it would be good for the kid to log some hours on a starship before graduation.”

“You insist he is not a child, yet you refer to him as ‘kid’. Illogical.”

Captain Pike sighed. There was a reason he and Spock usually only maintained a professional relationship. Spock had a tendency to be a tad… literal. “Fine, yes, he’s young. But he’s got brains to spare. Just give him a shot, okay? Why are you so against Jim spending a couple months on board?”

“I do not appreciate your attempts to replace me, Captain,” Spock said sternly, but couldn’t quite meet the captain’s eyes.

Christopher Pike burst out laughing. “Replace you? The kid’s a genius but he’s got nothing on you, Mr Spock. It’s me who should be worried.”

Spock raised an eyebrow. “Captain?”

“Someday, James Kirk is going to be the best captain in the fleet. Hell, I’d give him the Enterprise if she weren’t already mine!”

“You have a lot of faith in Cadet Kirk,” Spock observed.

“I do. And I hope you will agree with me. I have a feeling you two might get along just fine,” Captain Pike winked.

“I do not understand your meaning, Captain,” Spock questioned. “To what feeling are you referring?”

“Let’s just say, Jim has always been more… diplomatically inclined than I ever will be.”

Spock knew when to give up. And it was usually when the Captain strayed so far into metaphor that his words lost all meaning. Recognizing that that line was rapidly approaching, Spock politely excused himself from the conversation and, quickly, the room.

“James Tiberius Kirk,” he muttered, glancing over the cadet’s file on his computer. “What does the captain see in him that I am missing?” 

Yes, his credentials are impressive, and yes, he had many remarkable achievements for his age. And yes, he could be considered aesthetically pleasing. But beyond that, Spock could see no reason for this cadet to receive such high praise from the captain. Or such a high honour as serving on the Enterprise.

“I believe I am missing a piece of data,” Spock mused, turning off the machine and lying down on his bed. “I must be certain to discover it upon our meeting tomorrow.”

***

As it turns out, Spock needn't have worried about discovering James Kirk’s mysterious quality. It made itself quite clear the moment the cadet stepped onto the bridge.

“First Officer Spock, I assume,” he said, walking up to Spock unannounced. Spock merely nodded. “James Kirk, pleasure to meet you. I’ve read some of your research on the possibility of a 128th element, and I have a couple of thoughts of my own. Perhaps we could discuss them later over a game of chess. I heard you play?”

“Indeed,” Spock replied, unable to shake his desire to listen to every word that came out of the kid’s mouth. The kid had  _ charm _ . It was as if he had a gravitational pull on everyone around him. Spock nearly felt himself compelled to match the dazzling smile currently fixed on him. “I would find that to be most acceptable. Meet me in my quarters at 2100 hours.”

Jim was practically bouncing as he walked away, off to introduce himself to each member of the crew. From the center seat, Captain Pike watched his protegee with mild amusement. Later, Spock overheard a brief whispered conversation between captain and cadet.

“You never told me your first officer was so young!”

“You weren’t aware? I had assumed you had read Mr Spock’s file before boarding the ship.”

“I’m not in the habit of stalking Starfleet Officers, Captain,” Jim smirked, lifting a subtle brow in Spock’s direction, clearly meant for him, and him alone to see. Spock very nearly blushed, clearly remembering his own actions from the night before. But surely the cadet couldn’t have known about that?

Spock considered this knew information, and decided that the best course of action would be to mind his own business henceforth. 

***

Cadet Kirk entered Spock’s quarters with precisely too much swagger for someone who was nearly 30 minutes late. A fact which Spock made sure to make him aware of.

“You are late, cadet,” he stated, but allowed the cadet to take the seat opposite the chessboard.

“Yeah, but fashionably,” the cadet quipped back, which took Spock by surprise. He was unfamiliar with the phrase, but found it to be quite true. Cadet Kirk had indeed changed from his usual Academy uniform. He was now dressed in a manner Spock could only describe as stylish. It suited him, Spock decided.

“You have made quite an impression on the crew today, Cadet,” Spock made the first move in the conversation, as well as in their chess match.

“What can I say? I dress to impress!” the cadet laughed.

“But you were wearing a regulation uniform?” Spock gave him the look. The one reserved for those odd human sayings.

“Ahh, I should’ve known you would say that,” Kirk said, beaming at him. “Chris told me all about you! Except he forgot to mention just how handsome you were.”

This time Spock couldn’t prevent the mild blush that crossed his face. “The captain told me many things about you as well,” Spock played back coolly. 

“Oh yeah, like what?” Kirk challenged. His stance in the conversation seemed to match his stance in their game of chess. And at this rate, he would win both.

“He said that you were a remarkable student and… an excellent diplomat.”

“He said that did he?” Spock almost thought he could see the faintest hint of pink drift across Jim’s face.

“Indeed, although that statement perplexed me. I was not aware that you had received more than the basic diplomatic training at the Academy.”

Jim coughed. Loudly. “Well. Mr Spock, it’s not exactly… well, while I was at the Academy, Chris and I used to joke about diplomacy in terms of… well, relationships.”

“You mean you likened the diplomatic process to the process of acquiring a romantic partner?”

“Erm, yes.” The cadet was definitely blushing now. So was Spock. But apparently another one of Jim’s mysterious qualities was the ability to remove Spock’s judgement of when to terminate a topic of conversation. Against his best judgement, and all logic, he asked another question.

“But for what purpose would the captain inform me of this fact? And why was it necessary to use such metaphors?”

“I guess… I think… I hypothesize… the captain believed I could be… attracted to you...” Jim finished this statement with a solid inspection of his shoes.

The nice thing about science, Spock had learned over the years, was that it is impersonal. He had often called on such tactics to divert attention away from himself. To remind the crew of other factors more important than personal involvement. Especially at times when he found himself to be emotionally distressed, often due to flawed assumptions made by the crew. Yes, Spock often relied on science, as Jim appeared to be doing now. Perhaps that captain was right, he did seem to have many things in common with the cadet. But a romantic relationship?

“I suppose even a Starfleet captain can make an error in judgement occasionally,” he offered, attempting to relieve Cadet Kirk’s discomfort.

“I suppose so,” the cadet agreed, but instead of relaxing as Spock had anticipated, he tensed. He stared at Spock mutely, watching him closely.

“Checkmate,” Spock noted, moving his queen one last time. “An excellent match. Although we did not have the opportunity to discuss my research, as you wished. Perhaps another day.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Kirk shrugged. He slid carefully out of his chair. “Goodnight Mr Spock.”

“Sleep well, Cadet, you have an early shift on the bridge tomorrow,” Spock commented. But Kirk was gone.

Why had the tone shifted so suddenly? He asked himself, allowing his mind to slip into a light meditation. Had he said something to offend the cadet? But no, he had not seemed offended, only… disappointed. But why?

The answer hit Spock like a sack of bricks to the face. Had the cadet been attempting to confess his attraction? Spock had believed that Kirk had been attempting to make the statement less personal, when really the cadet had been trying to make it  _ more _ personal. To which Spock had replied…

Spock chose this moment to use a human expletive he had recently grown rather fond of for situations such as these.

“I believe I have… fucked up.”

Pulling out his communicator, Spock attempted to contact Kirk. To explain his misunderstanding. But either the cadet was already asleep, or he was refusing to answer.

Very well, Spock decided, I will speak to him tomorrow on the bridge. But when the artificial sun rose the next morning, Cadet Kirk was not on the bridge. Nor did he appear to be anywhere else in the ship.

***

The mystery of Cadet Kirk’s location was resolved in a rather unexpected way. 

Spock opened the door to his quarters, planning to have a quick meditation session then go straight to sleep. It had been a stressful day, attempting to appease the captain’s anxieties over the location of Cadet Kirk. Not to mention his own guilt, which had needed to be repressed.

What he was not expecting, was to find the cadet lounging on his bed, seemingly quite at home.

“May I ask what you are doing in my quarters?” Spock asked, giving Kirk the eyebrow of disapproval.

“I was hiding,” Kirk shrugged.

“From who?”

“The captain. You.” Kirk shrugged.

“Why would you hide from me in my own quarters?”

“I knew nobody would look here.”

“I will not question why you were hiding from me,” Spock stated, because he already knew the answer. If he was correct in his belief that the cadet was romantically interested in him, it was a perfectly natural human response.

“Good, because I’m not about to explain myself to you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going.” He stood abruptly and made his way to the door.

“No,” Spock said loudly. The cadet halted in the doorway, eyes locked with Spock’s. “Stay. Please. I believe you wished to discuss my research?”

“Fine,” Kirk sighed, sitting at the chessboard once again. “I do find it particularly interesting.”

They started another game. Nobody spoke for several minutes, until Spock broke the silence. “I would like to apologize for my comments yesterday,” Spock said quietly, focusing intently on the chessboard in front of him. “I believe I made an… incorrect assumption.”

Kirk’s head snapped up. “What do you mean?”

“I believed that I had read your behaviour correctly, as I found it aligned with my personal experiences. However, I was mistaken. An interesting behavioural study in cross-species mannerisms.”

“What’s your point Spock?”

“You find me romantically appealing. Or am I once again mistaken?”

“You’re not wrong Spock,” Jim sighed leaning back in his chair. “But you were right, saying that Starfleet captains can be mistaken. Of course it would never work out. I was being stupid.”

“James-”

“Jim.”

“Very well. Jim. My statement was made with an incorrect assumption of your own emotions. It does not reflect my own feelings, it was merely a misconstrued attempt to reassure you.”

“You mean, you wanted to reassure me, that you believed I didn’t have feelings for you? You thought I was embarrassed because the captain had wrongly accused me of attraction?” Kirk raised an eyebrow at his Vulcan companion.

“Yes.”

Kirk burst out laughing. “Mr Spock, that is  _ adorable _ !”

“Please explain your reasoning for labelling my assumptions as  _ adorable _ .”

Jim, still chuckling slightly, met the Vulcan’s eye. “You stood up for my honour, Mr Spock. What a very… gentlemanly thing to do.”

“I object to your calling me a gentleman, as I am not a man, nor, you will find, am I gentle.” He winked.

“Holy shit Spock, did you just flirt with me?” Jim exclaimed, his face flushing.

“I believe I did,” Spock replied, bemused. “Although I must admit that I learned that line from a particular Terran film.”

Jim had the audacity to look disappointed. But his disappointment was short lived.

“You flirted with me!”

“I was merely grateful for an opportunity to practice the line I had-”

“Don’t bullshit me, Spock. I know you’re interested,” Jim insisted, to which Spock found he no longer had any logical arguments.

“Unfortunately, you are correct.”

“Oh, don't sound so disappointed, Mr Spock,” Kirk gave him a quick wink. “You don’t know what I have to offer yet.”

Spock coughed. “I believe you came to offer me insight into me research,” he commented, attempting to restore a natural hue to his face. “Or was that merely a deception in order to gain my interest.”

“Spock, I would never lie to you,” Jim grinned, taking Spock’s hand. Spock decided that now was not the time to inform the cadet of the sensitivity of Vulcan hands. Not that he believed the cadet would let go, even if he knew the truth.

“Then you are truly interested?” Spock asked. Kirk nodded. “Excellent, because I was curious to hear you opinion on whether the valence electrons would default to a higher energy orbital, or-”

“Mr Spock, as much as I would  _ love _ to hear about your research, I can think of other things I would rather be doing right now.” Kirk gave Spock’s hand a squeeze in a way that suggested he knew perfectly well the significance of the gesture. Perhaps the cadet had not been entirely truthful when he claimed to have done no research. Spock would have to question him on that later.

“Such as?” Spock asked, slightly miffed at having been interrupted in the middle of his explanation, but anticipating whatever the cadet would suggest next.

“Such as beating you at chess, Mr Spock,” Jim grinned. “Checkmate.”

“You have rendered me emotionally compromised, Jim,” Spock sighed, tipping his King in defeat.

“Why Spock,” Jim said, pressing a kiss to Spock’s hand with perfect gentlemanly form. “I have been attempting to do nothing less.”

“Very well,” Spock said, taking Jim’s hand fully in his own. “I accept defeat.”

**FIN**

**Author's Note:**

> so yeah this fic is basically me projecting onto Spock with how I deal with all my (non-existent) relationships. It was very therapeutic. Thanks for reading


End file.
